Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Teaser Tuesday...

Happy Tuesday! How about a little teaser from... SPEECHLESS

NORMALLY TEAGUE WOULD welcome a distraction that kept him from having to deal with Hudson, but this one irritated him. Still, he managed to have a lengthy conversation with the two guys who were buying a boat from a friend and wanted to know how much it would cost to fix it. Considering they had no idea what was wrong with it, there was little Teague could tell them, yet they’d managed to chat him up for a full half hour.

Now, as he headed outside to clear his head and refocus, he remembered his phone had buzzed in his pocket a short while ago. As he leaned against the steel wall, propping one foot flat against it, he pulled up the text message he had received. It was from Hudson, which wasn’t a big shocker. Not many people texted him. Or called, for that matter.

Rules we have yet to discuss:

Great. Just what Teague wanted, more rules in his life. He’d had enough of that shit when he was younger. Every damn person he’d ever encountered had rules for him. After his mother had died, it seemed he’d had to deal with one rule after another. Whether it was from a foster family, a school, a counselor, a social worker … they all wanted to lay out what Teague could and could not do. Mostly the latter.

Needless to say, he wasn’t fond of rules.

He continued reading.

1.No getting intoxicated for the duration of our agreement.

Well, that one seemed easy enough and he wasn’t blindsided by it. Hudson had already mentioned that he needed to be sober, which he was, thank you very fucking much. However, he didn’t see a problem with having a beer from time to time, and he intended to tell Hudson that.

2.Testing for STDs required. I’ve got my results to give you.

Okay, so that made sense. Teague had his test results from two months ago. Since he hadn’t had sex since, that should suffice. If it didn’t, then … whatever. Safety was crucial, even he couldn’t deny that. But it did make him wonder whether Hudson thought that meant they wouldn’t be using condoms. Teague had never had sex without a condom. Hell, he’d never given or received a blow job without a condom. He was rebellious, yeah, but he wasn’t fucking stupid. No way was he having sex with anyone unless condoms were involved.

3.No time limit. You can end this whenever you want. As can I.

For whatever reason, Teague had thought this was going to be a one-and-done type deal. At the most, twice in one night. Based on that rule, it sure as shit sounded like Hudson expected this to be ongoing. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that.

4.During the time we’re together, we will be exclusive. Period.

Again, that one made sense. No reason to take risks. Then again, if Hudson was as good as he claimed he was, Teague wouldn’t need to stray. Not that he believed Hudson could hold his interest for more than one night, but whatever.

Teague stared at the screen, rereading the rules over and over again. He was partly taken aback that Hudson had the audacity to pin rules to his offer, but in the same sense, they weren’t completely unreasonable. Maybe the drinking part. That seemed to be a stickler for Hudson, and Teague briefly wondered why. Still, Teague found himself battling back the urge to rebel against them. That was how he’d spent his entire life; he didn’t feel the need to change that now. If Hudson wanted rules, Hudson could go fuck himself.

It didn’t take long for the calm to morph into a firestorm of frustration. It was a familiar feeling, something he was used to dealing with. He rarely knew what caused the rage to start boiling, but it never failed to appear.

As the anger burned hotter, he typed in a response: Take your rules and shove them up your ass.

Before he could hit send, he stopped himself, staring back at the words he’d typed. The resentment was prevalent, as it always was, but there was something else bubbling up inside him, something that was almost stronger than the anger. He just didn’t know what it was or what it meant.

Deciding he needed time to process that, he deleted the words he’d written, dropped the phone in his pocket, and headed back inside. He had a job to do. Confronting Hudson had been a huge mistake. He didn’t need this kind of bullshit in his life; he had enough of that.

So, rather than accept or decline, Teague did what he did best. He ignored it, pretended it never happened, and decided to move on with his life.

Teague Carter, one of the four owners of Pier 70 Marina, has spent his life feeling rejected. To the point that he has never allowed himself to get close to anyone. He prefers it that way, in fact. But he refuses to believe that his destructive behavior might be something more than rebellion.

He’s unable to speak...

Hudson Ballard, Pier 70’s mechanic, has been fighting his attraction to Teague for years. He has stood by and watched the kid get more and more out of control, but this time is the last. If Teague wants to use sex to escape his problems, Hudson is certainly willing to be the one to show him that he’s good with more than just his hands.

Sometimes words aren’t necessary.

There are fireworks when this out-of-control bad boy agrees to no strings with this tatted up, dominating mechanic.

Can Teague and Hudson keep their emotions from getting involved in their arrangement? Or -- thanks to the demons from their pasts -- will the darkness steal from them before they have a chance?